Razor



United States Patent "ice 3,417,468 RAZOR Hideo Miyauchi, 9491Shimosuwa-machi, Suwa-gun, Nagano-ken, Japan Filed Dec. 21, 1965, Ser.No. 515,379 Claims priority, application Japan, July 27, 1965,40/61,245; Dec. 27, 1964, 39/100,884, 39/100,885 3 Claims. (Cl. 3041)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shaver, including a handle which defines arefillable chamber. A shaving head includes a razor blade and is formedwith an elongated passage extending along a cutting edge portion of therazor blade so as to discharge shaving fluid thereunto. Control means isdetachably secured to the shaving head and to the handle and isoperative for selectively connecting the passage with the chamber.

The present invention relates to an improvement in razors which enablesthe user to shave with shaving liquid in a most effective and simplemanner.

The first object of the present invention is to enable the user to applythe shaving, liquid to the part to be shaved, in a foamy state and in avery simple manner, and also to evenly spread the shaving liquid upondischarging same with a spreader arranged at the discharge outlet.

It has been generally considered that a razor with its grip containingfoaming or non-foaming shaving liquid is very effective since dischargeof the liquid from immediately adjacent or below the blade of the razorenables the user to continue shaving as the liquid is discharged.Actually, however, application only of foaming or nonfoaming shavingliquids commonly on sale does not soften the hair and relieve the painupon shaving. Thus, no matter what effect may be given to the skin orthe hair by the shaving liquid, application of same does not immediatelyproduce the desirable effect of relieving pain. According to the presentinvention, such drawback can be removed.

If the shaving liquid is discharged directly past the blade supportingpart, the blade surface and the blade supporting metal portion must becleaned after shaving. Otherwise, because of the narrowness andcomplicated configuration of the liquid passage, the liquid remainingthere will corrode or rust the blade while the razor is not used, orwill solidify and adhere in such narrow and complicated passage, thusconsiderably lowering the sharpness of the blade and preventing smoothdischarge of the liquid upon the next use of the razor. The secondobject of the present invention is to remove such drawback.

The third object of the present invention is to facilitate supplying therazor grip container with shaving liquid and also to form the grip intoslenderer configuration so that the user may handle the razor in such adelicate manner as to produce an excellent shaving result. In actualshaving, if the thickness of the razor grip is over a certain extent,the user feels that he firmly grasps, rather than lightly holds, thegrip. Then it is hard for him to handle the razor in a delicate mannerand he is apt to exert an unduly strong force on the razor, the shavingbecoming thus very diflicult.

Patented Dec. 24, 1968 Accordingly, it is not desirable to make the gripthickness exceed a certain extent. This limitation will present anotherquestion of unfitness for containing the shaving liquid, the amount ofthe liquid for only few times of shaving being unable to be stored.

With respect to this point the present invention provides a valve tomake possible the supply of the shaving liquid.

The fourth object of the present invention is, when the grip containeris to be filled with fresh shaving liquid, to enable the user to readilydischarge the remainder of shaving liquid and exhaust the useless air sothat the liquid supplying operation may be readily carried out.

The other objects of the present invention will become apparent from areading of the following detailed description with respect to desirableembodiments of the present invention as shown in the attached drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the razor according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevation view of the razor taken along theline IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the razor;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the razor and the shaving liquidcontainer, showing the liquid supply operation, with the essential partof the razor in section; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevational view of a razor which is anotherembodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIGS. l4 of the drawings, the razor of the presentinvention comprises a blade securing part 1 which also serves as ashaving liquid discharging part, a discharge control part 2 of theshaving liquid 4, and a grip 3 which also serves as a container forstoring the shaving liquid 4. The structure of the discharge controlpart 4 and the grip 3 is not limited to that which is shown in thedrawing. It is essential that the blade securing part 1 comprises asecuring plate 5 and a securing screw 7 projecting from said plate 5 andpassing through a supporting member 6. The blade B is firmly heldbetween the securing plate 5 and the supporting member 6 by the screw 7which screws into the grip 3 or into an intermediate member 8 adjacentthereto. The screw 7 is hollow as seen and thus provided with a passage9, which hollow passage 9 communicates at its lowermost part with theliquid passage 10 of the discharge control part 2. and at its uppermostpart with a liquid passage 11 of the securing plate 5. The outermostaperture portion of the liquid passage 11 is provided with a 'brushorsponge-like spreader 12.

The discharge control part 2 comprises a securing portion 13 of theintermediate member 8 having a threaded hole into which said securingscrew 7 is screwed, a cylinder-shaped adjusting ring 14 and a rotatingmember 16 retained by a pin 15 secured to the ring 14 and rotating andaxially moving within the intermediate member 8. The rotating member 16is provided with the central liquid passage 10, and the pin 15 passesthrough a helical slot 17 of the intermediate member 8 so that it canmove therealong. The threaded portion 18 of the lowermost inner portionof the intermediate member 8 engages the grip 3 serving as a containerof the shaving liquid 4. This grip-container portion 3 is provided atits uppermost and lowermost parts with valves 19 and 21 respectively.The valve 19 is provided with a pipe 20 with respect to which the valveoperates and which is situated below the rotating member 16. In each ofthese valves 19 and 21 there auze. :2 1. 41

3 are provided a valve casing, a spring and a valve element outwardlyurged by said spring, and in the case of valve 19 these elements areidentified with numerals 22, 23, and 24, whereas in valve 21 they areidentified as 22a, 23a and 24a.

A passage 25 is provided axially of the pipe adjacent to the valveelement 24, and a small hole provided transversely of the passage 25 isnormally opposed to the seat member 26. This is also true of valve 21,where the appropriate numerals are 25a, 24a, 25" and 26a. The valvestructure is not restricted to such one as shown but may be one suchthat the valve element 24 and the seat member 26 engages with each otherthrough a conical plane or a ball valve structure with a ball. Adischarge pipe 27 is provided for discharging the shaving liquid 4 withthe valve 19. There is also provided a shaving liquid supplying pipe 28for filling the grip container 3 with the shaving liquid from a shavingliquid supplying container 29 through the valve 21.

In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 5, a valve 30 is arranged at thebottom portion 31 of the grip-container 3 for discharging the shavingliquid 4 and also for exhausting the air. A valve element 32 normallykeeps the valve open by the urge of a spring 33. A packing 34 is alsoprovided.

The operation of this razor is as follows: When the adjusting ring 14 isturned so that the rotating member 16 is pushed down, the pipe 20 isalso pushed down by said member 16 so that the small hole 25 providedacross the axial passage 25 of the pipe 20 is moved out of engagementwith the seat member 26. Thus, the valve 19 is opened so that theshaving liquid 4 pressurizedly contained within the grip-container 3rises in the discharge pipe 27 and passes through valve casing 22, thesmall hole 25, the passage 25, the passage 10 of the rotating member 16,and the hollow portion 9 of the screw 7, and finally reaches the passage11. Then, the liquid 4 is discharged in a foamy state from thatportionof the razor which is provided with the spreader 12.

Accordingly, in actual use the user can apply the foaming shaving liquid4 to the skin portion to be shaved, holding the grip-container 3 ofslender configuration and operating the adjusting ring 14 with a fingertip. The discharged shaving liquid 4 can be evenly spread over the skinportion. After this, with the skin portion prepared for shaving, theshaving can be carried out with the blade B which is held between thesecuring plate 5 and the supporting member 6.

Thus, in the present invention, the shaving liquid 4 is not dischargedfrom that portion of the razor which holds the blade B. Accordingly,upon application of the shaving liquid there is no danger of injuringthe skin and corrosion or rust of the blade B can be prevented. Further,since the liquid passage is not of complicated and narrow configuration,it is sufficiently broad so that the shaving liquid can be freelydischarged. Since the spreador 12 is arranged at the discharge outlet,the user can apply and spread the shaving liquid as it is discharged,without changing the manner of holding and without turning over therazor.

When fresh shaving liquid is to be supplied to the grip-container 3, thevalve 21 is urged against the mouth portion of the shaving liquid supplycontainer 29, as seen in FIG. 4, so that the valve element 24a of thevalve 21 is pushed up against the influence of the spring 23a and theliquid from said supply container 29 rises in the pipe 28 and fills thegrip-container 3. Alternatively, after separating the grip-container 3by bringing same out of engagement with the discharge control part 2through the threaded portion :18, the liquid may be supplied through thepipe 20.

Although the grip-container 3 is of slender form that is effective forshaving, supply of the liquid can be readily effected so that the razorcan be used for a long time. Taking advantage of its slenderness, theuser can enjoy 4 the usefulness of this razor during a tour or the likeby carrying several spare grip-containers and replacing the used up oneby simple screwing operation.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the shaving liquid supply operationis as follows: The grip-container 3 is separated from the intermediatemember 8 of the discharge control part 2 by screwing operation of thethreaded part 18. Then, upon pushing up the valve 30 against theinfluence of the spring 33, this valve is opened and the remainingpressurized air and the remaining liquid within said grip-container 3are readily discharged. After this, the fresh liquid is pressurizedlysupplied from the supply container 29 to the grip-container 3 throughthe passage 25 of the pipe 20 constituting the valve 19. Thus, by simpleoperation of the valve 30, the remaining pressurized air and theremaining liquid are quickly discharged and fresh liquid can be suppliedin a ready manner. Further, because of the simple structure of the valve30, this razor can be mass-produced with lower cost than conventionalones.

Thus, the razor of the present invention has such advantage that itfunctions in such a manner as well adapted to the essential function ofthe shaving liquid, that it is very ready to handle with effectiveutilization of the chemical action of the shaving liquid, and that bladechange can be readily carried out just as in the case of conventionalrazors.

While there have been described and illustrated preferred embodiments ofthe present invention, it must be understood that numerous otherembodiments may be made without departing from the spirit of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A shaver comprising, in combination, a handle defining a refillableinterior chamber adapted to contain a shaving liquid under pressure; ashaving head connectable to said handle and including two detachablyconnected sections one of which is closer to and the other of which isfarther from said handle when said shaving head is connected to thesame, and a razor blade clamped between said sections and having a sidefacing said other section and a cutting edge, said other section beingformed with an elongated passage extending along said one side proximalto but inwardly of said cutting edge and being adapted for dischargingshaving liquid onto the same; spreader means secured to and carried bysaid shaving head extending along said passage for spreading shavingliquid which is discharged from said passage onto said one side of saidrazor blade; and control means detachably connecting said shaving headwith said handle, said control means communicating with said chamber andsaid passage and being operative for selectively connecting one with theother for discharge of fluid into said passage and therefrom onto saidone side of said razor blade proximal to said cutting edge and forsubsequent spreading of the discharged fluid by said spreader means.

2. A shaver comprising, in combination, a handle defining a refillableinterior chamber adapted to contain a shaving liquid under pressure; ashaving head comprising a razor blade having a cutting edge portion, andbeing provided with an elongated passage extending along said cuttingedge portion and adapted for discharging liquid thereonto; control meansdetachably secured to said shaving head and said handle in communicationwith said passage for selectively connecting one with the other fordischarge of shaving fluid onto said cutting edge portion, said controlmeans comprising a first portion defining a channel, a second portionsurrounding said first portion and rotatable with reference thereto,follower means carried by one of said portions and operative for axiallyshifting said first portion with reference to said second portion inresponse to rotation of the latter; and normally closed valve meansarranged in the path of said first portion and adapted to open inresponse to engagement With said first portion resulting from axialshifting of the same.

3. A shaver as defined in claim 2, wherein said first portion includes afirst section provided with said channel and including a transverse borecommunicating with said channel, and a solid second section having ashoulder; and wherein said valve means comprises an annular valve seatdefining an aperture, said second section of said first portion normallyextending through said aperture with said shoulder sealingly engagingsaid valve seat on one axial side of said valve seat and with said borelocated on the opposite axial side of said valve seat, and said valvemeans further comprising biasing means urging said shoulder intoengagement with said valve seat.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1962 Shalev 3041 4/1965 Resnicket a1. 30-41 1/1933 Harvey 30-41 5/1946 Samel 222397 3/1957 Orlando eta1. 30-41 FOREIGN PATENTS 4/ 1953 Great Britain.

ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examine l'.

US. Cl. X.R.

